The University of Nevada-Las Vegas expects to see a Hawaii football team playing well “above” its previous level Saturday.

“I think you are going to see a team that is on a real emotional high,” Rebels’ coach Tony Sanchez told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The game in Las Vegas will be the Rainbow Warriors’ first since Chris Naeole took over as interim head coach in the wake of Sunday’s firing of Norm Chow.

“First of all, I think Norm Chow is a good man, he’s always been really good to me, so I’m disappointed to see it (the firing) happen,” said Sanchez, who is in his rookie season after heading national high school power Bishop Gorman of Nevada for six years. “And, I’m sure they are going to go ahead and rally behind Coach (Naeole) and the guys that are still there. When these things happen, teams have a tendency to play even above the way they have been playing.”

The 2-6 Rebels are a 9-point favorite over the 2-7 (0-5 Mountain West) ‘Bows.

Sanchez said, “They will be (filled) with so much emotion. They are gonna come out (strong). Hawaii is always a real physical team, so we expect to see that.”